Whatever else we might say about Romney as a politician, he is admirable as a man. The facts adduced below make it seem highly unlikely to me that Romney is seeking the Presidency in order to compensate for some deficit he feels in himself, or to stroke his ego, or to sate some selfish urge. This bodes well.

Quoting from an email sent to me by a correspondent:

On Romney’s character….

In July 1996, the 14-year-old daughter of Robert Gay, a partner at Bain Capital, disappeared in New York City. She had attended a “rave” party and gotten high on ecstasy. Three days later, her distraught father had not been able to find her.

When he learned of this, as CEO of Bain Capital, Romney took immediate action. He closed down the entire firm and asked all 30 partners and employees to fly to New York on a chartered airplane to help find Gay’s daughter.

Romney set up a command center at the LaGuardia Marriott and hired a private detective firm to assist with the search. He established a toll-free number for tips, coordinating the effort with the NYPD, and went through his Rolodex and called everyone Bain did business with in New York, and asked them to help find his friend’s missing daughter.

Romney’s accountants at Price Waterhouse Cooper put up posters on Street poles, while cashiers at a pharmacy owned by Bain put fliers in the bag of every shopper. Romney and the other Bain employees scoured every part of New York and talked with everyone they could: prostitutes, drug addicts, anyone.

That day, their hunt made the evening news, which featured photos of the girl and the Bain employees searching for her.

As a result, a teenaged boy phoned in, asked if there was a reward, and then hung up abruptly.

The NYPD traced the call to a home in New Jersey, where they found the girl in the basement, shivering and experiencing withdrawal symptoms from a massive ecstasy dose. Doctors later said the girl might not have survived another day.

Romney’s former partner credits Mitt Romney with saving his daughter’s life, saying it was the most amazing thing, and he’d never forget for the rest of his life.

Many people are unaware of the fact that Romney was asked by his old employer, Bill Bain, to come back to Bain & Company as CEO and rescue the firm from bankruptcy. Romney left Bain Capital to work at Bain & Company for an annual salary of one dollar.

When Romney went to the rescue of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, he accepted no salary for three years, and would not use an expense account.